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finally painting my rig!

05-17-2010, 09:43 PM

After three years of changing things around and getting rusty we are finally painting my truck. I say we because the guys that work for me are doing most of the work.(sandblasting) I am alsohaving the cab painted black by a shop that paints big rigs. heres some pics, I'll post more as we get more done.

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That is the machine that goes on this truck. The blaster is so small you would have to point it right at the welding machine to hurt it. It is getting a little dusty, but all the sheet metal is coming off for maint. and a good cleaning. Sort of on topic, does anyone have any tips to make these small sand blasters work better?

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Sift the sand through a mesh screen first to break up any lumps that have formed due to moisture in the sand. Add a good moisture seperator in your air line to prevent adding more moisture. Most of the problems with these blasters are due to moisture. Can't see what size compressor you are running,but it would be good to check your nozzle size on the blaster. These use a large volume of air and have different size nozzles with different air requirements. If you are running silica sand, it may not be enough for heavy rust. Try aluminum oxide, it is more aggresive.

Sometimes there's no second chances.

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Anyone thinking about repainting their rig and are cleaning the rust off and going to bare metal must metal prep with zinc chromate based primer,and prime with organic zinc for best results alot of times for cabinets and shelves on a rig you can paint wet on wet by priming then painting, awhile ago the Endura rep asked me to try and scratch a panel he had painted with organic zinc both with Dupont and Endura and I could not scratch through them adhesion was so good and so rust could not travel.Alot of people like powder coat but powdercoat is the worse thing to use for industrial applications because often it is sandblasted, all it takes is a penetration of the finish and rust will travel under the powdercoat.I had a Ranger with a factory bar package in 87 and it rusted under the powdercoat,lasted three years, in 1990 I sandblasted the powdercoat off(very hard job I wish I would have tried a torch) primed with organic zinc and painted flat black and their is no rust to this day, I still have the truck.
Some may disagree but paint is always better than powdercoat because you always have future options.
How does your truck look now, have you finished?

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Some may disagree but paint is always better than powdercoat because you always have future options.

If the material is prepped right and the paint (powder OR liquid) is applied correctly either will give you great results. Ultimately EVERY finish will fail over time, especially if abused. Powder coat makes an excellent base for liquid paint, which is a good thing on something like a truck deck where you don't want to completely dismantle it to reapply powder coating.

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A lot of people like powder coat but powdercoat is the worse thing to use for industrial applications because often it is sandblasted, all it takes is a penetration of the finish and rust will travel under the powdercoat.

Some may disagree but paint is always better than powdercoat because you always have future options.

Fiirst off, I respectfully disagree with the above statements because you offer them up as FACT, when they are only YOUR OPINIONS....

I have no issue reading other's opinions on topics, but in future, please identify statements like these as what they are... Your OPINION... Nothing More.

Secondly, I have had several items Powdercoated on Class 8 Tractor Trailer units for use in the Oilpatch... All were sandblasted... All had a baked on primer coat of Zinc Rich Primer, then a final baked on layer of colour.

We have been using this procedure up here for years....

I would agree with your suggestion of the use of a Zinc Rich primer, but your out and out BASHING of PowderCoating only shows YOUR Ignorance of the Process...

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If the material is prepped right and the paint (powder OR liquid) is applied correctly either will give you great results. Ultimately EVERY finish will fail over time, especially if abused. Powder coat makes an excellent base for liquid paint, which is a good thing on something like a truck deck where you don't want to completely dismantle it to reapply powder coating.

To chime in with Clay,

I have NO experience with Liquid Paint over PowderCoating, but it has been my experience that Sandblasting can make, or break a paint job.... The blasting medium (and surface PROFILE) have to be matched up to the process being used to finish the surface, or else the primer, and finish, will not have the correct "Bite" to the surface, and will fail much sooner than it should.

I myself, am a HUGE fan of PowderCoating whenever practical, but that is just MY opinion.

Later,
Jason

Professional Spark Generator by Trade.

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I am going with paint on this bed. We have a few shops that can powdercoat stuff this big, but I feel with paint I can touch-up or repair stuff better. I am using a local companys polyurethane. I went to the paint shop to pick up the cab and chassis today and had to leave it as there were some minor issues with the paint. I'll post pics when I get it back. Black sure does show how bad I need to polish my wheels though!

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I've used both paint and powdercoat finishes before. The key to how well a finish turns out and if it is as durable as advertised is to follow instructions. Every finish manufacterer provides a tech sheet for their product. If the finish applicator is the kind of guy to crumple up said sheet and do what he wants to do, then he has no right to complain when the finish fails. many finishes cannot be applied over a sandblasted surface without first sanding it to a specified grit. As long as I have followed the tech sheets, I have never had any major finish problems.

Sometimes there's no second chances.

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I don't have much use for powder coating either, done right, not done right, who cares but lots of rust under it. I have used most of the Dupont line, the zinc is fine for auto body, I guess its ok in general but for equipment we use Corlar epoxy primer followed with Imron industrial top coats. I don't do much fancy for prep, sandblast, followed by quick hit with hand scuff of scotchbrite, simple blow off with air, then prime. The brite is important, first it dislodges stuck sand and second it smooths hi spots from blasting, you can really feel the difference, bare blast then run hand over, scuff it then feel. It knocks off little spikes on surface that tend to stick up thru primer.

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ive had beds that were painted, ive had beds that were powder coated, funny thing is, neither one last for crap after the first time you slide a piece of 1 inch 2 ft by 2 ft plate over it, or throw an excavator bucket or frame for a hydraulic breaker on it....